Children's Performance Arts Workshop Take to the Streets

Joke Van Kerckhove (YOW-kuh van KERCH-ku-vuh) came all the way from Belgium to organize a theater workshop for children of low-income families in depressed areas of Bacolod City.



With the help of NGO worker Grace Abella, they organized a street presentation of the theater workshops learned by the children.





Inday Espina-Varona and Anamarie Palermo graced the ocassion on January 10, 2010 in front of Nune Alvarado's food and art haven, Namit-Namit Pagkaon kag Taliambong along Artekalye Street, Bacolod City.

New Year's Eve Installation Art

Installation art, according to Wikipedia, describes an artistic genre of site-specific, three-dimensional works designed to transform the perception of a space. Wikipedia continues that this art genre incorporates a very broad range of everyday and natural materials, which are often chosen for their evocative qualities.

This installation art is the result of our New Year's Eve partying: traces of leftover food, fruit peelings, spoons, forks, a wine bottle, trumpets, inflatable ring, coin banks, used firecrackers and sparklers strewn all over. What an artsy way to welcome the New Year 2010!

Anima: A Photo Exhibition by Inday Espina-Varona

Inday Espina-Varona opened Anima, her first solo photo exhibition on December 13, 2009 at Namit-Namit Pagkaon Kag Taliambong Restogallery, Bacolod City.


They say that what differentiates a snapshot picture-taker from a creative photographer is, while the former sees images only, the latter sees more than that -- light.


The photographs, glimpses of her travels around the world, indeed breathed the spirit of an artist such as Inday sensitive to the play of light and shadows in what would have been otherwise plain, lifeless images.


I had the goosebumps at the back of my head as I basked in the anima exuded by the artworks. Each frame seemed to snatch you into a convent in Florence, a temple in Penang, a home in Quebec, a theater in Shanghai, and even a beauty pageant location shoot in Davao.


Running until December 30, Anima is more than just a photo exhibition, it is a show for a cause. Proceeds of the exhibition will go to Inday's favorite charity, the foundation for breast cancer awareness.

Shown in this picture are special guests Belgian Joke (YOW-kuh) van Kerckhove, Gabriela activist Grace, and the artist, Inday Espina-Varona.

Oil Pastel Painting One-on-One Lesson

Pablo Picasso once said, "All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up."



When confronted by a blank sheet, children are not afraid of it the way adults are. They just attack it and in a matter of seconds, it's painted all over with a beautiful work of art that's free and unrestrained.



Children need only familiarize themselves with the medium they are working and then let them be. This is our aim with our 12-year-old art student. At least, before she fully grows up and develop that dreaded fear of the blank sheet, we will try to capture that precious childlike essence that will never happen again in a person's life.



Already gifted with a talent for art, June Anne tries her hand on first oil pastels in a one-on-one lesson with yours truly. After an hour or so, voila, her very own artwork of a prairie house.

Art Nouveau of Balay Negrense in Silay City

Art Nouveau is French for "new art", an international movement that became popular from 1890 to 1905. In Germany, art nouveau is called jugendstil, our "youth style" characterized by flowing curvilinear forms of highly stylized plant and floral motifs.

Art Nouveau is an approach to design, making art a part of everyday life from architecture to furniture.

A European art connoisseur saw this in the floral carvings of the Balay Negrense in Silay City. He reckoned that, as the house was built around the same time art nouveau was in vogue in Europe, the owner Victor F. Gaston, the son of French Yves Leopold Germain Gaston and Prudencia Fernandez of Batangas, may have ordered the ornamentation of his house custom-made in the style of art nouveau.

Art Conservation Tips To Make Your Artwork Last Forever

Art conservation is very important if you want to make your artwork last forever. Here are a few art conservation tips I have learned from art conservationist Mr. Ricky Francisco in one of the many seminar/workshops conducted during the 10th VIVA ExCon held in Cebu City in November 2008.

Art conservation tip #1 - PRIME YOUR SUPPORT. Whether it is canvas, wood or board, have at least two coats of gesso or white latex paint, apply the second coat after the first one has dried. As your support and paint are hygroscopic (the ability to absorb moisture in the air, causing the material to expand or contract), mold growth which damages the artwork is unavoidable in the humid Philippine environment.

Additional art conservation tip for boards or wood supports - coat at least two times the front, sides and back for better protection.

Additional art conservation tip for canvas supports - apply several layers of gesso or white latex on stretched canvas until you have a smooth and stable surface in order to lay a good foundation for your art.

Art conservation tip #2 - USE A RIGID SUPPORT. According to recent studies, the more stable the support, the better the paintings will keep. This is because of the contraction and expansion of materials due to humidity.

Art conservation tip #3 - STUDY YOUR PAINTS AND MATERIALS. Paints have binders to hold together the paint's pigment. They have certain properties that may discolor or crack in time. For instance, use oil paints "fat over lean", meaning the slower drying oils should be on top of faster drying oils.

Art conservation tip #4 - VARNISH YOUR WORKS. This acts as a film that protects your painting from the damaging effects of ultraviolet light, dust, dirt, molds, high humidity and pollution.

Art conservation tip #5 - FRAME IT WELL. It highlights as well as protect your painting. Never use rugby or contact cement to bind your artwork to the board. This is very harmful to your artwork or picture as rugby is very acidic. Notice how poorly framed photographs, certificates or diplomas turn yellow over the years. In just 10 years, the acids from the rugby would have worked its way to the canvas or paper and reveal unsightly mildew stains called foxing. Over time, the brown spots will degrade your painting's support and eat up your artwork.

Additional art conservation tip for glass covered artworks - make sure they are well protected against breakage due to mishandling.

Additional art conservation tip for canvas supports - put a board backing to protect your painting from dust, dirt, and insect invasion.

Art conservation tip #6 - DUST IT CLEAN. Remember Mr. Bean ruining Whistler's Mother in the movie? Simply reserve one cleaning brush that's dry and oil-free to dust your painting, one small square area at a time.

Art conservation tip #7 - DON'T TOUCH IT. Avoid oils, dirt and grease from your hands getting onto your artwork. Use white cotton gloves while handling especially old and delicate paintings. When shipping, wrap your artwork with acid-free glacine or wax paper.

Art conservation tip #8 - CARRY IT ONE AT A TIME. Bunching them up in just one go will cause the friction to rub the artworks against each other, causing irrevocable scratches.

Art conservation tip #9 - AVOID TOO MUCH LIGHT. Ultraviolet and infrared light causes discoloration of your artwork. Keep it in under controlled lighting conditions. Never expose your painting in direct sunlight.

Art conservation tip #10 - KEEP MOISTURE OUT. This will encourage the growth of mold and mildew and will cause irreversible damage to the painting.

As an artist and creator of your work you have the responsibility of prolonging its life for a very long time in order for the succeeding generations to enjoy viewing the actual artwork that has survived the test of time, thanks to a very well prepared job of art conservation.

You Can Never Go Wrong in Oil Pastel Painting

You can never go wrong in oil pastel painting. That's one thing I like about it. The other thing is that an oil pastel box is so handy that you can carry them just about anywhere and start painting.

Because an oil pastel works best in toothed surfaces such as oil pastel paper, handmade paper, watercolor paper, sandpaper, and other textured surfaces, practically you can never go wrong in oil pastel painting. Like oil and acrylic painting, you can always paint over your mistakes. So that your support ( oil pastel paper, handmade paper, watercolor paper, sandpaper, etc.) would not go to waste.

Take for this experimental oil pastel piece in ghastly colors. Not only did I not like it, I also didn't want to see it ever again. So I have to paint over it, and support is never wasted.



First, I did my sketch over the unwanted artwork using a stick of oil pastel. For my oil pastel sketches, I would usually pick the longest sticks which means these are the colors I rarely use because they are still more or less intact.



Next, I color in my underpainting, still using the colors I rarely use so that these oil pastel sticks would have to have some use. I also pick colors that are still largely available for my background. I would like all my oil pastel sticks to be used up at about the same level.



Finally, I work on the details, shadows and highlights. Voila! My mother and child (actually a self portrait) oil pastel painting.

I think I have found my calling: doing body portraits as opposed to realistic face portraits.

Not only is there no waste in supports when doing oil pastel painting, the oil pastel sticks can be used up even up to the last bit. Thus, worry not, for you can never go wrong in oil pastel painting.